AL DIVISION SERIES: INDIANS v MARINERS

October 12, 2001

Aaron Sele

AARON SELE: Not much, unless I throw left-handed and learn how to throw that changeup. So, I've got to pitch my game, keep the ball down and let the defense work.

AARON SELE: Both of them, they are aggressive. They were aggressive in strikes and let the defense work. That's basically what Bryan has been hammering at us all year to throw strikes and let the defense work. We have guys that know how to pick it and they do that.

AARON SELE: I think it helps. For situations like this, the fans, the excitement in the ballpark, all of the extra activities, I think that's important. I think once the first pitch is thrown, then it's game time, I think 162 games gives you plenty of experience for your post-season. It's the extra curricular activities out of the game that get out of hand.

AARON SELE: You answered the question yourself. I didn't hit. I mean, I don't know. I don't stand up at home plate.

AARON SELE: Were we supposed to be surprised that the media flip-flopped like that? (Laughter.) It doesn't matter. Once you get to the post-season, you wipe the slate clean and you start all over. Getting to the post-season is half the battle. Playing in the post-season is the second half of the battle. I don't think it matters how anybody is perceived. To get to the playoffs, you have to have a quality team and Cleveland and Seattle both have quality teams.

AARON SELE: You always look forward to your start, whether it's in the regular season or in the post-season. I mean, we have to wait, five, six days to get a chance to play, so you look forward to your opportunity to play. But I don't think you change any of the ways you prepare or go about your business. The way you've handled yourself in the regular season, whatever type of success you've had, you want to try to stay with that pattern in the post-season.

AARON SELE: You shouldn't. I mean, you've got to approach it just like any other game. I can't go out there and throw 95 because I can't throw 95. I can't change anything.

AARON SELE: Really, I haven't tried to change anything. Bryan Price, our pitching coach, has continually talked about being aggressive with all of your pitches in the strike zone, let them put it in play and let your defense work for you, know all of the typical things pitching coaches tell you. I don't feel like I've changed my style or made any conscious changes in the way I pitch or anything like that. I just really try to continue to do the things I've been successful with, and fortunately, like you said for the last five years, things have been pretty even keel there. I don't have any reason why my walks or my ERA is down.

AARON SELE: Well, I think a large part of that is the training staff. They are the ones that put together your weight programs. They are the ones that do your maintenance on your arm work. Rick Griffin and Tom Newberg, our trainers here in Seattle have been excellent, Wayne Ramirez down in Texas, Rick Zoachy (ph) in Boston, all of those guys, they really got a good foundation going and we've just been able to maintain that.

AARON SELE: Really, we have to do the chart the day you pitch, so you get a good view of the game on TV. You get to watch the way the pitcher the day before pitched them or maybe if the hitter is spinning out a little bit. You just try to watch for little things like that. Today it's an off-day basically, so just relax. And tomorrow, it's basically the only thing I'll do is I'll get together with my catcher and say, you know, based on what I do and what you think the hitter is doing, what do you think we should do and kind of come up with a game plan. Of course you throw that out the window because as soon as you get to the game the situation changes and you're not going to do the same thing. It's basic stuff. You watch the game, you try to get prepared from there. You go -- you know what type of hitters the hitters are from talking to your catcher and you go out there and hopefully have your pitches working and if your pitches are not working, you make up some other ones.

AARON SELE: I think you just stay within yourself. He's got to go out and stay with his strong point, whatever they are. You can't -- I don't know, it's hard to talk. I'm not C.C., like you said. I think you just go out and stay with your strong points.

AARON SELE: It really doesn't matter if it's fair for pitchers or if it's better for hitter or not; you've still got to make your pitches. If I'm throwing the ball well, I'll hopefully get a lot of ground balls, so hopefully the fences don't come into play that way. The teams that have always been here have had great hitters, good power hitters. So any ballpark would look small with some of the power they have.

AARON SELE: I think the personnel has changed. They have replaced great hitters with great hitters. Carlos Baerga is here and now Roberto Alomar is here. When Carlos was swinging it, he was great and Roberto is a great player, too. Manual was here and now Juan is here. Different faces, but a great-hitting lineup top to bottom.

AARON SELE: I don't know. I mean, I don't play basketball or football. I don't know how to answer that question.

AARON SELE: I think being at home for a team is important because you have your comfort level, your families, you know the routines and you know the ins and outs. But at the same time, we played 81 games on the road, so we are also used to travel. I think home games are great for the home teams. Cleveland had a great year and they are in the playoffs so it's great for Cleveland to have games here. The fans are great, they are loud. They are great fans. I don't know if there is an advantage or disadvantage, but it's a great reward for the city because your team has played so well and now you have a chance to come and root them on in the post-season.

AARON SELE: Juan is probably the best RBI guy in the Major Leagues. He's phenomenal. You look at his numbers year-in and year-out; he's a great hitter. Obviously, his numbers in Detroit were down, but I think that was just due to lack of playing time. He's a big, strong guy and he knows how to get the runners in and he does that consistently year-in and year-out.

AARON SELE: Not really. I mean, it's 1-1. It's been turned into a three-game series. So, no extra pressure. We'll just go out and play hard. That's what Cleveland is going to do. We'll see what happens.

AARON SELE: It was a little different for me. We had been to New York and we lost two, so we had to win that third game. Here, it's 1-1. Like I just said, it's been turned into a three-game series, so that's a little different. Other than all this extra activity, like I said, once the first pitch gets thrown, it's a baseball game. I think he's pitched enough baseball games; I think he'll just go out there and do whatever he's done all year.

AARON SELE: It's kind of what you expect in the post-season. The best teams make it, so you've got great lineups and you've got probably the best pitching staffs throughout the League. It's post-season baseball. You're here, you play hard and you have fun. Like I said, see what happens at the end of the game.